So you think you have found the perfect new apartment home? After putting serious thought into location, type of community, amenities and number of bedrooms, your head can really start to spin!

One consideration that often is overlooked is the functionality of your new apartment. Have you taken the time to make sure your furniture fits? After paying application fees, administration fees and deposits, the last thing you want is to have to buy is new furniture.

An online room planner can really help you visualize furniture in your new home. Some of the easier (and free) room planners available are Pottery Barn’s Room Planner, IKEA Online Planning and Urban Home. Armed with room measurements, you can easily drop furniture into your new rooms. This may eliminate the unfortunate surprise that your oversized sofa and antique desk no longer have a spot in your home. 

Another neat tool available online are Color Tools. Utilizing pictures you have taken or even pictures from the online listing, you can apply different color schemes to the various rooms in your new apartment.  Of course, you will want to make sure it is okay with management to change colors in your unit before researching different paint colors. Once you have approval, several neat tools that can help you with you color choices are Benjamin-Moore’s Personal Color Viewer and Better Homes and Garden’s Visualizer Tool.

Hopefully, the use of these tools will help you better visualize how your apartment would look after you move in!